Country music had never witnessed such an amalgam of high energy, lyrical wit, arresting vocal style and outrageous glamour as Dolly Parton brought to the format in the late 1960s. The bubbly Sevier County, Tenn., native drew heavily on her Smoky Mountain childhood for musical inspiration, but she differed from most other tradition-oriented women singers of the day by exhibiting a wide streak of independence that was simultaneously unyielding and good-natured. In time, Parton's spirit of self-determination would manifest itself in a break with long-time producer and singing partner Porter Wagoner, in sassier and more assertive song topics, and in her push into movies and toward a more pop music sound. Born in Jan. 19, 1946, into a poor family that would eventually include 12 children, Parton learned early to escape the hardships of life through her vivid and far-ranging imagination. Before she learned to read and write, she was "making up" her own songs. She got her first guitar when she was 8 and began singing on a Knoxville radio station when she was 11. That same year, she made her first recording on Gold Band Records, a tiny custom label. She made a name for herself locally while still in high school, but she dreamed of a bigger stage. The day after she graduated in 1964, she moved to Nashville. Her first charting records on Monument Records included "Dumb Blonde" and "Something Fishy," both released in 1967. At about this time, Wagoner was looking for a "girl singer" to replace his previous singing partner, Norma Jean, on his syndicated television show. Parton signed on in 1967 and remained with the show until 1974. In 1968, she joined RCA Records and the following year became a member of the Grand Ole Opry. As a duo, Parton and Wagoner had one of the most distinctive and most-awarded sounds in country music. Together, they had 14 Top 10 hits between 1967 and 1980. Moreover, they were twice the Country Music Association's Vocal Duo of the Year. As a solo artist, Parton also snared the CMA's Female Vocalist of the Year Award two years in a row, and in 1978, the CMA voted her its Entertainer of the Year Award. Wagoner remained Parton's producer until 1976. In the post-Wagoner years, Parton became more deeply involved in movies and television, but she maintained her country recordings and touring activities. Parton and her pals, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris, released their long-awaited Trio album on Warner Bros., which in 1987 soon became a million-seller. The multiple Grammy winner's string of hits is far too long for a single album to cover. But the first of two Essential Dolly Parton collections offers a close look at her best work over the years. The collection includes such hits as "Two Doors Down," "9 to 5," "I Will Always Love You," "Coat of Many Colors," "To Daddy," "Jolene" and her duet with Kenny Rogers, "Islands in the Stream." In addition to now owning her own record label and television/film production company, Parton's acting credentials include starring in such blockbuster movies as Steel Magnolias, 9 to 5 and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Of all Parton's songs, "I Will Always Love You" has had the most curious history. She first recorded it in 1973, and it grew into a No. 1 country hit the following year. In 1982, she recorded it again, and again it went No. 1, making Parton the first artist ever to score two No. 1's with the same song. Then, in 1992, Whitney Houston recorded it for the soundtrack of her film, The Bodyguard. This became the most popular version of the song. It stayed at No. 1 on the pop charts for 14 weeks and escalated into a worldwide hit. Parton recorded the song once again in 1995, this time as a duet with Vince Gill. The pair won a CMA Award for Vocal Event of the Year in 1996. In 1998, Parton reunited with Harris and Rondstadt for Trio II, the follow-up to their first album together. A cover of the Neil Young-penned "After the Gold Rush" won the supergroup the Grammy for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals in 1999. In October of that year, Parton was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Also in 1999, Parton returned to the music of her youth, recording her first full-blown bluegrass album. The Grass is Blue was named Album of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) and won the Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album. In January 2001, just a few days after her 55th birthday, Parton released Little Sparrow. The title is a tribute to her late father, who nicknamed his daughter his "little songbird."